Education centre for teachers demanded

THE €1.9 million education centre to support teachers working in all-Irish schools should go ahead as planned, the head of the Gaelscoileanna organisation said yesterday.

The project was announced for Ballyvourney, Co Cork, by Education Minister Micheál Martin in 1999 but various obstacles have led to delays. The matter is being considered by the current minister, Mary Hanafin, in consultation with Gaeltacht Minister Éamon Ó Cuív and a number of statutory bodies, and it is possible the centre might not be built or could be located elsewhere.

However, Gaelscoileanna president Micheál Ó Broin said his organisation, which represents almost 200 all-Irish primary and second level schools, supports the project as originally set out.

“We support the provision of the all-Irish education centre in Ballyvourney. This is our policy, based on a motion at our congress 18 months ago calling for it to be built immediately,” he said. “There’s a certain amount of in-service support available to our teachers through various programmes, but very little to directly support teaching through Irish,” said Mr Ó Broin, principal of Gaelscoil Chnoc na Ré in Sligo.

He said support programmes developed at a national centre could be delivered through the network of more than 20 education centres around the country.